Marketing Strategies Affected Differently by Weather

Marketing strategy in two dealerships and how the weather affected the outcome.

The goal of both was to increase showroom traffic, social shares and community excitement.

The first was a Chili Cook-Off at the Chevy dealership. We selected the categories, invited the employees and did a Facebook boost of the event targeting a 33 miles radius around the dealership. The contest was announced on March 1st and the goal was to raise money and items for the homeless in conjuction with the Capuchin Monastary who run a soup kitchen and allows the homeless to shower and sleep.

The event was a success! We had about 150 extra people in the dealership. The social shares boosting the event scored a 9 on relevancy in the Facebook Ads Manager. Three winners were selected. The event was free and the only stipulation was people bring in an item to help the homeless...

• Hand and bath towels
• Shampoo
• Soap
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Sheets (full size and twin size)
• Blankets (full size and twin size)
• Laundry Detergent & dryer sheets
• Paper Towel
• Toilet Tissue
• Baby wipes

The truck bed is about 3/4's full and we have another event in 2 weeks. A Brunch with the Easter Bunny. We may well have 2 truckloads going to the Capuchin's.

The Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM store also is having an event that ends tomorrow. It is a 'Test Drive and Win a 40" TV'. This event was also boosted by Facebook for $50 and the same 33 mile radius. The mile radius may seem odd, but after that we end up targeting fishermen on Lake Huron or into Canada where it is not so easy to sell a car across the border.

The idea behind this contest was to get people into the dealership at the beginning of the month, rather then at the end of the month when showroom traffic is very busy anyway.

The results so far... 10 test drives. This may seem as a failure, but it is not as we have the name and emails of 10 extra people that we didn't have before and the social reach of those 10 people will be many more. Also, it is far more test drives than the first third of March normally yeilds. Yes, the odds are pretty good for any of them to win the TV though.

Now the weather... We just had a major snowstorm hit. It was supposed to be 3 inches, but with lake effect snow showers- schools have been canceled for 3 days in a row now.

While this was great for our chili cook-off, it wasn't condusive for test drives. Although, people who live in conditions such as these should really test drive in the winter.

The moral of these marketing strategies is that depending on the end result, the outcome of a properly planned event will succeed no matter the weather.

Which event would have gotten you into a dealership?

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Safe travels everyone!